Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a light emitting diode (LED) module, a method for manufacturing the same, and an LED channel letter including the same.
Discussion of the Background
A cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), which is called a ‘fluorescent lamp,’ has been widely used as an illumination device for a long period of time. However, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp has disadvantages such as a short lifespan, poor durability, a limited range of color selection, and low energy efficiency.
A light emitting diode (LED) has several advantages such as excellent responsibility, high energy efficiency, a long lifespan, and the like. In accordance with development of a high brightness and high output LED, the demand of the LED has rapidly increased as a light source for illumination or other light sources.
According to the related art, an LED module in which the LED is mounted on a circuit board such as a printed circuit board (PCB) has been known. A package level of LED, that is, an LED package has been typically mounted on the circuit board. However, recently, an interest in a chip level of LED, that is, an LED module in which one or more LED chips are mounted on a circuit board has increased. In the LED module as described above, the circuit board and the LED mounted on the circuit board are significantly vulnerable to an external environment such as humidity, air, and the like. Therefore, a technology of protecting electrodes and LEDs on a circuit board from an external environment has been demanded.
A technology of covering a circuit board with a molding cover manufactured by injection-molding a plastic resin in a molding space of a mold may be considered. Here, if a space is not present between a bottom of the molding and the circuit board, the molding cover is formed only on an upper surface of the circuit board. Therefore, even though the molding cover is provided, the entire bottom surface and the entire side of the circuit board are exposed to the external environment.
As an alternative to the above-mentioned technology, a technology of forming pin holes in a circuit board and inserting pins installed on a mold into the pin holes to position the circuit board at the center within a molding space of the mold may be considered. In this case, a molding cover formed in the molding space covers a bottom surface of the circuit board as well as an upper surface thereof. In this case, holes remaining after the pins are separated, that is, pin marks pass through the molding cover and are then connected to the pin holes of the circuit board, and a route from the pin marks to the pin holes becomes a route through which external humidity and/or air penetrates.